TUSCALOOSA,
Alabama — There are a few topics not to be discussed within the Alabama
football program this time of year.

The
d*pth ch@rt is not a thing in spring practice.

But
the thought of it can stir up the nerves as the Crimson Tide approaches the
first scrimmage of the spring Saturday.

"I
think some guys about now start to worry about the depth chart and where they
are on the depth chart," coach Nick
Saban said. "Well we really don't have a depth chart. Really what we're
trying to do is coach every guy so they can be the best player they can be and
nobody should judge anybody and nobody should pout about anything. Everybody
should be focused on getting better.

"If
you focus on getting better and being the best you can be then you have the
best opportunity to get where you want to go, and that's where we want to get,
that's where they want to get and we want to work together with them so they
have the best opportunity to do that."

Obviously
there will be 11 players on the field to start Saturday's closed scrimmage, but
Saban continues to stress the experimentation and competition of spring.

The
Tide practices twice more before that first scrimmage in an empty Bryant-Denny
Stadium.

"Depth
chart means nothing right now," last year's starting right tackle Austin Shepherd said. The depth chart
won't mean anything until we play West Virginia. You have nine-10 days here and
then all of fall camp to prove things. So the depth chart means nothing."

The first depth chart isn't released in public until the Monday before the first game of the season.